How to Remove Copper Fouling From a Barrel

Traveling at thousands of feet per second, a bullet leaves tiny pieces of metal behind as it rubs against the inside surfaces of a firearm barrel. To improve speed, accuracy and penetrating ability, lead bullets are often “jacketed” with a thin copper coating. After a gun is fired several times, copper and lead fouling buildup must be removed from the barrel to maintain shooting accuracy and prevent barrel damage.

Things You'll Need

  • Gun vise
  • Spay foaming bore cleaner
  • Wire bore brush
  • Barrel cleaning rod
  • Slotted barrel cleaning tip
  • Cotton cleaning patches
  • Gun cleaning solvent
  • Gun oil
  • Cleaning cloths
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Instructions

    • 1

      Open the firearm action to confirm the gun is unloaded and place the firearm in a gun vise.

    • 2

      Spay foaming bore cleaner, designed to remove copper fouling, into the barrel at both the breach and muzzle ends. Allow the cleaner to stand in the barrel for the time specified by the product directions.

    • 3

      Screw a wire bore brush, of the same caliber as the firearm, to the end of a barrel cleaning rod. Work the brush vigorously through the entire length of the barrel.

    • 4

      Unscrew the bore brush from the cleaning rod and screw in a slotted cleaning tip.

    • 5

      Saturate a cotton cleaning patch with cleaning solvent and insert the patch through the slot in the cleaning tip. Work the patch through the length of the barrel several times. Continue the procedure, replacing patches as they become dirty, until a patch comes out completely clean.

    • 6

      Insert a clean patch into the cleaning tip and apply a few drops of gun oil to the patch. Run the oily patch through the barrel several times. Replace the oily patch with a clean dry patch. Run the clean patch through the length of the barrel once to remove excess oil.

    • 7

      Apply a few drops of gun oil to the outside of the barrel and wipe the barrel with a clean cloth. Clean all tools with cleaning solvent and a dry cloth.